by THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
English pride is a complex thing. We are, at heart, a nation of shame – colonialism, Brexit, the Royal Family, Richard Keys, Christmas cheer for your neighbor – but we usually have enough self-respect to get through the day without screaming. into a headset. Fortunately, there are also some things in which the English are still world leaders. We have the best plugs in the world, combining functionality, safety and design in three perfect plugs. There is no snack more delicious than Monster Munch pickled onion. David Attenborough still out-smokes any other TV presenter. Oh, and there’s the Premier League.
Football Daily has long fought against the relentless marketing drive from a certain broadcaster who claims that football was founded in 1992 and that England has the Best League in the World™. But sometimes, the Premier League delivers. Sometimes Sundays really are great. And when that happens, the best thing to do is sit back, strap in and enjoy the ride.
24 goals came in five games in the Premier League on Sunday. While Sky chose to show the snoozefest that was West Ham 1-1 Crystal Palace, there were four other blockbuster offerings with drama later than the Football Daily kid’s bedtime routine. For everyone outside the blue side of Manchester, there was delicious schadenfreude watching City being pinned back by a depleted Tottenham, who somehow conspired to score three goals at home to the Champions League champions despite not having but xG of 0.49, by Ben. Davies and Emerson Royal in central defence. At Anfield, Liverpool scored two worldies and still needed two more in the final minutes to edge a seven-goal thriller against Fulham, while 10-man Chelsea insisted on their way to beat Brighton 3-2 at Stamford Bridge. Even Bournemouth v Aston Villa was a cracker, finishing 2-2 after Ollie Watkins’ last-minute equaliser.
Quite an evening, and yet another reason to bring Premier League Years back to our screens. Some advice for future Sky Sports commissioners in 2030: you could do a lot worse than re-employ Georgie Ainslie (née Thompson), wrote her some lines that go something like “In December, there was more disruption on railway passengers but it was. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s strike made Fulham pay” and put some highlights of the 2023-24 vintage into our living rooms. Sunday was just a great Barclays day, but you cut it up. Roll on the midweek action.
STATEMENT OF THE DAY
“He now sleeps before games in a separate room … we talked about that, and he had a very good performance” – Rangers boss Philippe Clement will not be popular with partner Abdallah Sima after getting him a game own with two goals. – won a show off the striker by encouraging him to be a less loyal dad.
DAILY FOOTBALL LETTERS
I hope the football authorities get Erling Haaland down for his ‘WTF’ outburst on social media – he was just expressing what millions of people were thinking about his barn door inability to hit in the first half. So give the man a break” – Christian Goldsmith.
Thirty-eight goals in 10 Premier League games this weekend might excite the fans, but it gives me an idea of the poor quality of goalkeepers we have. For Van der Sar, Cech, De Gea, Reyna, Lloris, Given, Hart, Lehmann et al, the total would not be as usual – 3.8 goals per game which is good for the inter-school trophy. Give me those hard-fought 1-0 wins or the thrilling 0-0 win any day over these goals!” – Krishna Moorthy.
Finally some things for us pedants: Hamburger SV were European Champions 30 years ago (Friday’s Football Daily) but in 1983 they were even more remote. relegated to the 2. series of Germany in 2018 for the first time in its history. By the way, since you mentioned that year, in 1993 they still had some fine players like the legendary Yordan Letchkov and the 6ft 6in striker Karsten ‘Air’ Bäron” – Bogdan Kotarlic (and others).
Can I be one of your 1,057 readers to find out if Christopher Waltz is related to Oscar-winning actor Christoph Waltz (Friday’s Football Daily) in Vienna? Oh, and on the off chance that there are any astronomy lovers among you: To know that we know, and to know that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge.” – David Bebb (and no one else). ).
Send any letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winning letter is … Christian Goldsmith, who receives a copy of Pretty Polly: The History of the Football Shirt, published by Pitch Publishing. Visit their amazing football book store here.
Feel the burns
Obviously, the best goal this weekend arrived at Portman Road, where Wes Burns managed to find a physics-defying swerve with the outside of his right boot to give Ipswich a 2-1 win over Coventry that took them within a point of Championship leaders Leicester. So, is Burns the new king of the trivela? With what his colleague George Hirst had to say, it may not be time for Ricardo Quaresma to retire his crown just yet. “Wes has tried that 20 times in training in the last few weeks and I haven’t seen him do that once!”
OH DANIEL!
The Premier League may have had a hit list longer than Mr Tickle’s left arm but, for the football purist, Bundesliga 2 was where the real entertainment of the weekend was. So on to the Millerntor-Stadion on Friday, where Hamburg’s Daniel Heuer Fernandes scored a superb own goal 26 minutes into the game to give cross-city rivals St Pauli a 2-0 lead in the final. top of the table clash, no less. Oof. There’s so much to unpack in this one, especially the keeper’s position five yards out by the side of his far post, or the defender’s Russian Roulette-style pass across the six-yard box that went up from a divot that would have sent Tim Flowers into pain. withdrawals. At least Fernandes wasn’t doing a round of pre-match interviews showing his ability with the ball at his feet. What is that? “The manager demands that the keeper is active – I’m basically the 11th player out on our pitch.” But.
RECOMMENDED LISTENING
Robyn Cowen is joined by Jonathan Wilson, Lucy Ward and Barney Ronay to discuss what was an exciting weekend for Football Weekly.
NEWS, YEAST AND BOBS
Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom will almost certainly be former Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom by the time you read this. And who is leading the race to succeed him? Yes, Neil Warnock is Chris Wilder.
The UK government accepted all recommendations in the Karen Carney-led review of women’s football, including supporting the full professionalism of the top two divisions, the unification of the WSL and the Championship, cost controls and considering a 3pm Saturday as a dedicated television broadcast. slot.
Sarina Wiegman is calling for a truly wild show from England against Scotland, with Great Britain’s Olympic place on the line in Tuesday’s Nations League cup crunch. “I hope [the players] go wild from the first minute but you don’t want to be awkward,” she said. “We want to play our best game, create chances and get a lot of players forward.”
Which team can go toe to toe with the best in the world? Tottenham can! Yes, Dejan Kulusevski reckons their 3-3 draw with Manchester City proved Ange Postecoglou’s fearless band of brothers can be contenders. “I love the gameplan,” he says. “We just need to grow a little mentally and we’ll be at the top.”
If you’re wondering how it’s going for Pascal Chimbonda at Skelmersdale United, well… he’s been given a five-match stadium ban for inappropriate behavior after being sent off at Barnoldswick Town. The club will appeal, mind. “Pascal would like to say that although he pleaded guilty to the offense of leaving his technical area, he did so solely to prevent his players from being injured in a melee,” the club said in a statement. “[We] appeal against the severity of the punishment because it does not seem proportionate to the offence. Especially since his previous disciplinary record is absolutely spotless.”
And in case you missed it, the FA Cup third round tombola threw Arsenal v Liverpool and the Wear-Tyne derby. Woof! You can see all the links here.
THE ROAD TO WEMBLEY
While we’re on the topic of the FA Cup, we’re sad to say goodbye to Horsham (again) after their 3-0 win over Sutton in the second round of the FA Cup on Saturday. In recent weeks they have perfected the role of the daytime house cat, keeping us company on these cold lonely nights, leaving us in a state where they’ve gone, coming back from the dead, then fail back after roaming. down to Gander Green Lane. Do not bother with it. We now have a new pet. Sutton have some pedigree in the FA Cup and travel to Plymouth for the third round. Up With Us!
STILL ABOUT MORE?
Premier League. Ten talking points. Here.
Ramsgate’s Medy Elito chats to Morgan Ofori about his change of music and how the power of good tunes can fuel FA Cup action at AFC Wimbledon.
A curious conflict of interest hangs over England’s rivalry with Scotland in the Women’s League, writes Suzanne Wrack.
Why the key to success is the rapid evolution of hybrid players. Will Unwin on the Toyota Priuses of the modern game.
Sid Lowe explains how ageless back-row king – and Middlesbrough legend – Cristhian Stuani cemented his status as the Prince of Girona this weekend.
Calhanoglu 2.0 lived up to his hype as he sparked Napoli’s revival. Nicky Bandini on the transformation between No. 10.
And Luis Enrique has a dilemma at PSG: choose a shot stopper or a modern keeper who won’t step over his own feet, writes Ligue Urrrrrrrrn, Luke Entwistle, aficionado.
MEMORY LANE
It’s 17 November 1995 and 22-year-old Juninho gets his first ever snow, which had collected on top of his car in Middlesbrough after an overnight flurry. Look at the joy on his face! Beautiful stuff.
750 LIGHTS!
